Letters to Mom
by j.d.y
Summary: He was her partner, and that's all she wanted her mom to know in those letters. But what if over the course of some letters, the tone changed? What if he came to mean more to her than anything? Prompt based series.
1. Water Heater

Hello! I have a few things to say about this fic. It's going to be exactly thirty chapters long. No more, no less. Each chapter is based off a prompt and they've already all been picked out. You'll know what the name of the prompt was, because it will be the name of the chapter. This story will be well more like chronologically ordered inter-connected one shots. But it'll all fit together to make a story I promise. Some chapters might be really long, while other's may not. It all depends on the prompt. Updates will probably be weekly, maybe twice a week. It's all up to how long of a chapter it shall be.

Couple: NatsuXLucy

Prompt: Water Heater

Word Count: 2,822

Release Date: December 30th, 2012

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail. Sadly...

* * *

_Dear Mom,_

_Today Natsu burned down an entire tower; I swear it wasn't my fault._

* * *

Lucy sighed, letting her head practically bang into against the guild's bar. It was a very bad day, as in there was no good thing that could happen today to make it even close to being a good day kind of day.

Her hot water heater had broken three days ago and she still hadn't gotten it fixed. Which meant that she hadn't taken a shower in four days and she was really beginning to smell, no matter how much deodorant and cherry blossom body spray she used. Nothing was covering up the smell of sweat and dirt that now lingered around her.

Also because amazingly her hot water heater had broken and due to the hatred the universe seemed to spawn on her, the washer had also magically seemed to break at the same. So now she didn't even have clean clothes to wear and smelled worse than ever due to this reason. And Lucy hated wearing dirty underwear; it just made her feel disgusting.

It really wasn't her day, or rather her couple of days.

"Still haven't gotten your hot water heater fixed?" Mirajane asked, leaning over the bar closer to the young blonde. She regretted it instantly and immediately felt bad when she pulled back from the odor that Lucy was emitting

"I know I stink," Lucy grumble, sighing and wishing that she could just fall into a nice hot bath full of bubbles. It sounded like pure heaven.

"Well, I'm sorry. Why don't you take a job so you have money to pay your rent when it's due?" The barmaid's guilt rose when she realized she made the suggestion partly to get the stink out. She really did love Lucy, but she hated the stink.

"Natsu disappeared on another week long 'I'm gonna look for Igneel' with Happy. I really have no clue where they are. Could be anywhere," once again she sighed, playing with the ends of her hair, sadly. She really missed the pink haired dragon slayer. It wasn't often that he wasn't by her side and even less often that he wasn't at the guild hall. It almost didn't feel the same without him there.

"Why don't you take up a job by yourself? I'm pretty sure that by the time you come home, you're hot water will be fixed," Mirajane tried again, even poking the girl once to try and get her point across. Lucy swatted her hand away in response.

Lucy Heartfilia was not in the mood to be poked.

"Just go take a job Lu-chan," Levy encouraged, smiling at her best friend. The poor blonde had an aura of complete and utter hell around her and she wanted to fix it. "Even if it's a really easy job, just take it. It'll take your mind off things." She gave an even bigger smile, attempting to ignore the smell. Lucy seemed to be ignoring her. "Aww, come on Lu-chan at least talk to me," she tried again, nudging the other girl's shoulder. "It'll make you feel better."

The young mage sighed again and turned towards her best friend, the aura around her growing darker. She figured that she wasn't going to be blissfully ignored like she wanted, so she might as well give them her very stinky attention.

"If I go on a mission, will you all leave me alone?" She asked, grumbling and throwing a heated glare at the two Fairy Tail women. She really didn't want to do this, but she figured that she could use the money.

"Yes!" Both women chorused excitedly, smiling big. Their exclamations only caused the blonde to sigh more, before rising from her seat at the bar and stomping towards the mission board.

"She really isn't happy…" Mirajane sighed, staying quiet so the blonde wouldn't hear her. She took to wiping off the place Lucy had just been sitting, trying to look conspicuous.

"I wouldn't be either and Natsu isn't even here to cheer her up. Hopefully going on an assignment will make her feel better." The blue haired mage whispered, watching their friend grab an assignment off the board and stomp out the guild in anger, slamming the doors behind her. The whole building shook and every mage in the guild hall shuddered.

"I really hope she comes home in a much better mood," Elfman whistled, "And that her hot water heater is fixed before she returns." He knew that even if he was a very powerful mage in his own right, but all of the women, Lucy included, was scary when they were angry. And he really didn't want to deal with a pissed off, non-showered, Celestial Spirit Summoner to go off on him, she might be tiny but she sure packed quite a punch.

Or well Loki did.

* * *

Natsu wondered where Lucy was as soon as he entered the guild hall. He'd already been by her apartment; she hadn't been there. So he'd come by the guild hall hoping to find her there.

Not a big chested blonde in sight; he couldn't even smell her nearby.

The pink haired dragon slayer headed to the bar, hoping Mirajane or any of his fellow mages sitting there knew where his teammate was. He knew she couldn't be too far away, but still he hadn't seen Lucy in a week. It was time to have "team bonding time" in her apartment, in which he ate a lot of her food and took a bath.

"Hey Natsu, lookin' for Lucy?" The silvered haired bar maid asked, giving one of her huge smiles. It was good to have him back again. She didn't like when he disappeared by himself; they all worried he'd get into trouble.

"Yea, where is she?" He gave another look around for her, as if expecting her to poof out of thin air. All he found different was Happy was off playing with some of the fellow guild members, telling them about their week away.

"She took a mission since she had nothing better to do," Mirajane smiled brightly, watching as Natsu visibly deflated. She wondered if Natsu even realized that he did it, probably not she mused. The dragon slayer could be pretty dense.

"Why didn't she wait for me?" He whined, resting his head on the bar. "Now I got nothing better to do!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air.

"You could shut up fire breath!" Gray shouted from across the room, having seen his rival appear.

"Why don't you shut up streaker?!" Natsu growled back, flames forming around his fists.

This was just what Natsu needed. A good fight to entertain him until his partner came home.

* * *

It was a really simple mission, or so Lucy Heartfilia thought.

All she had to do was collect a satchel from inside a cave for a client and return it to them for one hundred thousand jewels. There was no reports of monsters or cave ins or dark mages. It was really simple; the guy had simply forgotten it there and because of a broken leg couldn't get it for several months.

And yet every bad thing that could have happened, happened.

First she got there and there was a giant wolf waiting for her at the cave entrance, it had tried to eat her and tore her shirt to pieces in the process. It had also left a very large bloody gash across her upper chest. She'd had Virgo dig holes all around the wolf to weaken the ground and cause it to become trapped inside of a hole.

This then led to a new problem, because of the tremendous fighting between herself and the wolf and then Virgo's digging, the cave had begun to cave in and she was forced to run for all she was worth further into the care to become safe. This left her in a panting collapsed state on the cave floor, her hands attempting to put pressure on her wound as blood poured past her fingers. She'd had to summon Horologium to carry her the rest of the way to the satchel.

Once she'd gotten there, she'd merely touched it and someone had came out of nowhere and sent her flying across the cavern. Apparently a dark mage who held some kind of grudge against Fairy Tail had spotted her before she'd even reached the cave and had summoned the wolf to end her. He could apparently summon rather large wild animals. When that hadn't worked, he'd hoped the cave in would have killed her, but since it obviously hadn't, he'd come to do the job in person.

Which made her day even worse than it already was.

It wasn't an easy battle, between her bleeding like crazy and the power she'd already used to summon the other spirits. The dark mage came at her with all kind of oversized beasts like a tiger and a bear and even another wolf. The young blonde mage took to dodging their attacks and causing them to attack each other when two came at her at once. It was almost amusing when the tiger and the bear slammed into one another and began to fight.

When the wolf came at her, Lucy had had enough. The young mage summoned Loki quickly. He nearly had a heart attack at the state she was in, pulling her out of danger as the wolf's jaws nearly wrapped around her fragile body.

"Lucy! What happened? How did it get this bad?" He screamed at her, setting her down far away from the wolf. "And why are you clutching that satchel as if your life depended on it?" The Spirit asked as an afterthought, examining the young girl.

She looked horrible in his eyes. Blood dripped down the front of her and she wore nothing but her skirt, and without a thought he took his suit jacket and wrapped it around her paling form.

"I'll explain later, just defeat him please," Lucy looked close to tears, her grip on the satchel tightening. Images faded in and out and everything blurred around the edges. Her body felt heavy and cold swept through her whole body. She wished Natsu was there with his overheated body. He was always warm.

The Lion Spirit nodded and was gone within an instance. He hated to leave his summoner alone but he had no choice, quickly dispatching the last wolf and heading straight for the dark mage. He wouldn't let the man who hurt Lucy get away, not a chance on their life. Loki beat the man within an inch of his life, before leaving him.

"Thank god I know how to stay in the human world with my own power, you're completely drained Lucy," his voice was gentle and low, full of sadness and worry as he lifted her into his arms. She wouldn't have been so weak if she wasn't so injured. The blood soaked her skin and his suit jacket and he feared that she would die at this rate.

The lion growled and smiled a sick smile; he was gonna bust them out.

A couple of tons of rock were no match for the strongest of the zodiac.

* * *

Natsu was annoyed.

Lucy had been gone for days, too many days. So the dragon slayer took it upon himself to go and bring back his blonde teammate. He didn't know what was taking her so long, but he figured that she was just relaxing, but he needed her.

His team of him and Happy wasn't complete without the blonde girl. And even if he wouldn't admit it, he missed his friend.

"Lucy isn't mad at us is she?" Happy asked before they got on the train, waiting for Natsu's motion sickness kicked in.

"Naaa, she probably is just enjoying her time in the town, probably having a mini vacation!" The pink haired mage exclaimed, taking a seat. He was so happy to be seeing his teammate soon, nearly forgetting about his motion sickness.

That is until the train began to move.

Happy sighed, watching as the Salamander became multiple shades of green and incoherent muttering.

* * *

Loki wondered what he should do; to head back towards Fairy Tail and leave Lucy in the nearby tower of the local healing mage or stay with her. He knew he needed to let the guild know, so they could send for their healer and to bring her back to the guild, but he wasn't so sure about leaving his summoner alone in such a strange place.

He didn't trust that no harm wouldn't come to her.

"Why does everything have to be so complicated?" He sighed, standing at the bottom of the tower. He could smell Lucy a few stories above him and her smell of blood still lingered on his clothing. He'd never been that scared then when he'd brought her in. Her face had been paler than he'd ever seen it and her eyes were nearly lifeless, she looked like death warmed over.

The Spirit never thought his solution to the problem at hand would punch him square in the face.

* * *

"WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO LUCY?" Natsu was screaming and sending fire flying everywhere. It wasn't aimed really at Loki but everywhere. It soared up into the sky and down into the ground and even singed the lion's clothes a bit.

All Natsu could smell was blood and blood and more blood. Lucy Heartfilia's blood. His rage was fueled and skyrocketed.

"Is Lucy okay?" Happy was crying, flying around the two mages, trying to figure out was going on. He was worried about his human friend, she wasn't always nice and sometimes yelled at him, but he really did love her.

"She was hurt on this mission! She's upstairs sleeping! Calm down before you destroy the tower!" The Spirit yelled; dodging another fire breath sent his way. He might have dodged it but he quickly realized that he should have let it hit him.

The fire ball slammed right into the tower, going through the support beams. The tower shook and swayed from side to side, quickly catching fire. It would go down quickly, being as it was made entirely out of wood.

"Natsu! You fucking idiot!" Loki yelled jumping up to catch a healing mage that had jumped from a window. He set the mage down, already going for Lucy, but realized that the dragon slayer was already going for the blonde mage and was probably the safer bet. He could eat fire after all.

Natsu found his teammate easily, scooping her up into his arms and out of the burning tower. He jumped right through the window, feeling the ground rush up to meet him and landed easily.

He spared a glance down at the woman in his arms, worried out of his mind about his teammate. She looked horrible and now the sheet wrapped around her was burned.

"Eat the flames Natsu!" The spirit yelled at the salamander, waving his arms frantically at him.

It didn't take long before there was no more fire.

Not a minute after the fire was all in the pink haired mage's belly did the tower crumble into nothing but a big pile of rubble.

* * *

_Okay so maybe it was my fault, I mean I did go running off on my own. But, I really needed the money and everyone kept pushing for me to go on a mission. I know I should have waited for Natsu, but I just couldn't help it. I'm feeling a lot better now though, my wounds are almost completely healed, though we think I'm going to have a faint scar on my chest. You only see it if you know what to look for, so it won't be so bad!_

_He was really mad at me. After I woke up he yelled and cussed and wove fire around his hands. He kept telling me that I'm never allowed on a mission without him again. It really was cute how worried he was about me. I've really found a great friend in him, mom. Him and Happy and everyone else I've met at Fairy Tail; they're all really great!_

_Oh and mom my hot water heater finally got fixed! You have no idea how good it felt to take a hot bath and all of that. And even the washer now works too! I think some of my friends at the guild helped fix it, because Elfman and Gray were blushing when I told them my landlord had told me that some boys had stopped by and offered their help. I really love being a part of this guild._

_Well I gotta go mom, Natsu wants to go on another mission. Hopefully this one will turn out better than the last!_

_Love you,_

_Lucy._

_P.S. Don't tell dad._

* * *

Well I hope you all enjoyed it! :)


	2. Rain

Hello again! :) So I wrote another chapter because well I had the time and well I was too pumped not to! Alright to answer a question... Yes this story is rated "M" and yes I know it doesn't seem like a "M" rated story, but to cover my own hide I'm rating it as such. It will eventually become "M" rated and sometimes it may be too bloody or too heavily suggestive to be considered "T". I'm sorry for the confusion everyone.

Couple: NatsuXLucy

Prompt: Rain

Word Count: 2,425

Release Date: December 31st, 2012

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail.

* * *

_Dear Mom,_

_Today it rained buckets, Natsu got me soaked completely._

* * *

Lucy laughed at Erza stuffing her face with some kind of rare strawberry cake that she'd brought back from her latest mission. The red head had been gone for two weeks on an S-class mission to the other side of the country. It had been a really easy mission apparently and the warrior had come back happily bearing gifts.

She'd brought Gray a few sets of boxers that looked almost like shorts; she figured that at least if he was gonna strip it would look a little less like he was in his underwear.

Happy was already eating his present; a rare fish that he adored beyond anything else and had demanded Lucy and Natsu take him to get more.

Natsu was munching on the fire cookies he'd gotten, glaring at anyone who tried to take one. Though his blonde teammate had gotten one and instantly regretted it.

Lucy was twirling around the green and blue patterned bandana she'd gotten. Erza had bought it so she could wear it in her hair to keep it out of her eyes.

"Hey Lucy do you want to go on a mission today?" The fire breather asked, clapping his teammate on the back. He was careful not to be too rough with her; he always was. She coughed a little in response, turning to glare a little at the salamander.

"I'm still a little sore from last time; can we just wait another day?" The busty mage smiled at her friend, remembering the last mission she'd gone on. She didn't think Natsu would ever forgive her for going on a mission alone. The dragon slayer looked over his friend, noticing the mark across her chest. He hadn't meant to stare, but he felt just a tiny bit guilty. He should have been there to help her or at least gone to look for her sooner.

"Natsu! What are you doing staring at my chest?" Lucy growled once, her eyes gaining a scary gleam. The Celestial mage even smacked her teammate in the chest once, knowing that she really wouldn't hurt him.

"Sorry Luce!" He exclaimed, holding his hands up in surrender. He backed away from her just a tiny bit, hoping she wouldn't hit him again. Even though a tiny part of him wondered if he deserved it for not being there for her.

"So you two are staying home again?" Erza asked, her plate seeming to disappear from in front of her. You wouldn't have ever realized that the ex-equip mage had been stuffing her face full of her beloved strawberry cake a few minutes before. Gray perked up beside the red head mage; the idea of staying in the guild hall all day less than appealing.

"I'm not. You guys can go alone if you want." Lucy smiled sweetly, knowing that they were all bored sitting around the guild day after day waiting for her to feel better. She didn't want to hold her friends back. They could all use the money.

"You sure Lucy?" The ice mage asked carefully, trying to hide his excitement of leaving the guild. He hadn't been on a mission in two weeks. There was one particular one that he wanted to go on and he knew that it was right up Erza and Natsu's ally. He felt bad for leaving the blonde mage alone, but he was _really really really _bored.

"Don't worry about it guys. Go on ahead." The mage smiled brightly, making a 'get out of here' motion with her hands. Lucy stood up, grabbing her purse and bandana before waving goodbye to Mirajane and the others by the bar. "I'm gonna head on home; it looks like it's about to pour down anyway. I'd like to get home before I get soaked."

They all watched their blonde friend leave the guild hall, throwing a hand up in goodbye as she went.

* * *

She had barely beaten the rain home. No sooner had she entered her apartment and taken off her shoes did the rain fall from the clouds. It came in one fell swoop, making her run threw her spacious home to quickly shut all of the windows she'd left open to provide some fresh air. Lucy had never been more thankful that she didn't have that many windows to shut; her floors would have been ruined.

The Celestial mage slumped on her couch, grabbing a blanket that had been slung over the side haphazardly from Natsu and Gray fighting earlier when they'd come to tell her Erza was back. A small smile light up her face as she thought of her friends antics. They were always barging into her home. The smile disappeared quickly.

Lucy wished she'd just lied and said she felt good enough to go on a mission. It didn't feel right to have to stay behind without her friends. Or not to have them come bouncing in her apartment and using her bathtub or Natsu sliding into her bed in the middle of the night, no matter how many times she yelled at him to stop it.

"Being alone sucks," sighing; she wrapped the blanket tighter around herself and reached for the romance novel left on the table. The blonde girl had left it there earlier after the whirlwind that was her two friends attacked her apartment; she was idly amused that the poor book had survived.

Rainy lonely days like this always called for a good love story.

She'd learned that years ago after living with her Father.

Lucy Heartfilia knew how to handle her loneliness.

* * *

"Hiya Luce!" Was Natsu's greeting to his teammate as he slid through the window, bringing in the rain as well. He'd been stopped from just sliding right on in and had to fumble with the window for a minute, getting soaked in the process. He quickly shut the window behind him, afraid he'd have an angry Lucy to deal with.

The sound of rain was all he heard from the eerie apartment. None of the lights were on really, except the one by the couch. Just a small little lamp on the table that didn't do much to illuminate the large room. He idly wondered where his teammate was. It was harder to distinguish her from the room, considering the whole place radiated her. The room was dark, but he could see enough. Plus he'd been in Lucy's apartment so many times that by now he knew it by heart.

Walking around the couch, the dragon slayer spotted something round and lumpy curled up on one end. The lumpy thing moved, rising and falling gently, a tiny hand poked out, dangling off the couch over some forgotten book. A smile inched onto Natsu's face as he crouched down next to the lump that was Lucy Heartfilia. It seemed his friend had fallen asleep reading her precious books.

"You really should know not to fall asleep on the couch; it's really uncomfy," he whispered, picking the sleeping girl up and heading towards her bedroom door. The blonde teen curled into his warm chest, murmuring in her sleep about being cold. Natsu's smile only grew. "You really are a weirdo Luce."

Very gently the pink haired teen laid the sleeping girl on her bed, having Happy cover her with her covers. He looked out the window, noticing the dark grey skies didn't seem to end over the horizon. It would keep on raining for hours.

"We gonna go on home Natsu?" The blue cat asked, trying to be quiet. His eyes traveled to the window and the storm outside. He really didn't want to head out in that. The weather was horrible and cats hated water. And that's all there was outside. It was like bath time, but only a million times worse.

"Naa, I think we'll stay here for the night," it was strange for him to whisper but he didn't want to wake her up. Knowing Lucy she'd throw him out. And he really didn't want to go out in that rain storm. It wasn't even that late but the dragon slayer felt sleepy. The rain always made him tired, always made him want to curl up and sleep the day away.

Happy was already curled up at the foot of the bed, snoring loudly by the time Natsu had made up his mind.

He was really glad Lucy had a big bed; it was easy for him to climb under the covers and lay next to her. The sheets and blanket smelled of nothing but her and it made him smile.

He thought about why he was here in her bed, instead of on the mission with Erza and the streaker. The dragon slayer had refused to go on the mission, choosing to stay behind with his blonde teammate. He was closer to her than he was to the others, except maybe Happy. He wanted to spend time with her; he didn't want to leave her all alone. Natsu knew how that felt to be alone and he knew the Celestial mage had had her fair share of being lonely.

Maybe that was why he connected with her more than the others, why he'd decided to team up with her. Probably the reason why she was his best friend besides Happy. They both knew what it was to be lonely to have to rely on their own will and strength to get by in the world. He'd lost Igneel and wandered around for a bit all alone until he'd joined Fairy Tail, and she'd been practically forgotten by her Father after her Mother died and ran away from home.

They weren't exactly the same but they understood one another. And for that reason Natsu decided that he'd never leave her alone again to go on a mission. The blonde mage wouldn't go on any solo missions either, not after what had happened last time. There would have never been any kind of way he could have found forgiveness in his heart if he'd lost his dear friend. He knew he'd have tracked down the mage that had hurt her until there was nothing left of him.

The pink haired mage decided to try and sleep for the night by rolling on his side and facing his partner. He watched the pretty blonde for a few minutes, relaxing in the clean calming atmosphere of the apartment. It was strange how calm Lucy looked; her hair was down and she seemed content and at peace. She didn't seem like she had a care in the world at all, even scooting closer to the heat source that was Natsu.

The dragon slayer decided that he liked the look of pure calm on the blonde mage's face, wishing it was there more often. He didn't like when she frowned; she didn't look like Luce then.

Maybe he should do something about making her look like that more often.

* * *

It wasn't every day that Natsu was awoken by screaming, and it was even more of an oddity that Lucy was laying on top of him screaming. He supposed he should have expected this, considering that as sleep had overcome him, the blonde had been scooting closer and closer to him. It was just a bit of a shock that she was on top of him.

What he did next he instantly regretted.

He'd really regret it for weeks afterwards.

Between the pink haired mage still being only half asleep and the fact that he had been awoke by screaming and oh dear lords he was a guy after all and guys had certain male problems that happen to them first thing in the morning in that area. Plus it wasn't like Lucy was unattractive and given the fact that her very large breasts were squished against his chest was making his very male problem worse, very worse. And on top of it was all of the shock that a very loud very screaming very pretty girl was laying right on top of him…

It was no wonder that Lucy went flying out the window.

And right out into the cold hard rain.

* * *

_I really could have killed him! I mean it isn't that short of a fall from my apartment window to the ground! And it hurt really really bad! My back is now bruised and really sore. Natsu even lifted up my shirt in the mirror to show me how black my back is. I nearly cried in anger! I yelled and screamed at him, but now I feel a little guilty about it._

_The look on his face, mom, was one of pure anguish, like I'd kicked him when he was down. I've never seen that kind of look on his face, it made my heart hurt. I know he feels horrible about this, really horrible. I'm not gonna yell at him again. It really was just an accident; I know Natsu would never intentionally hurt me. I'm his partner and his friend and Natsu would never hurt someone he cares about._

_I had to stop Erza from beating the crap out of him, she was so mad! But in the end I think she saw my point, thought she did take him away from me where I couldn't hear and they had a really long talk. For some reason I have a feeling that I'm going to be stuck with Natsu for a while. He won't leave and I wouldn't be surprised if it was because of Erza. I think she told him to look after me. Well him and Happy, the blue cat is sitting around and eating all of my fish! But he's too cute to kick out._

_On the upside, my heating bill this month will be really low. Natsu is like a burning inferno and with it being the rainy season it's pretty cold and wet. I don't even have to wear long sleeves or thick clothing; Natsu keeps the place warm and toasty. Though I've taken to wearing clothing that covers the bruising on my back; Natsu gets a guilty look on his face whenever he even catches a glimpse of it. _

_Well I believe that's all for now. Missions for us are put on hold until the bruising is all gone and I don't hurt every time I move._

_Natsu doesn't seem to mind though; I'm glad for his company. He makes me laugh._

_Love you,_

_Lucy._

_P.S. Don't tell Dad._

* * *

What do you all think?


	3. Moon

Hello again! Wow I know I'm writing more than I said I would, but I've had a lot of free time the last few days. :) I hope everyone had a really awesome New Years Eve, I did, even though I got really really sick. .

Couple: NatsuXLucy

Prompt: Moon

Word Count: 2,770

Release Date: January 1st, 2013

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail.

* * *

_Dear Mom,_

_Today for the second time, Natsu said he'd knock the moon out of the sky. Kinda._

* * *

"Natsu my bed isn't your's!" Lucy yelled, once again waking up to the pink haired mage curled up beside her in her bed. A thump was heard from where she kicked him, sending him, covers and all onto the floor. The chilly morning air hit her fast, causing her to sit upright in bed, growling. If it wasn't bad enough that Natsu climber into bed with her most nights of the week, now he was stealing her covers when she kicked him out of it.

The dragon slayer now slept over at the blonde's all the time now. Hardly a night went by that he wasn't sneaking into her bed since the night he'd found her asleep on the couch nearly a month before and then knocked her out the next morning. She wasn't sure what possessed him to join her that night or any night since then, but now it was like he'd been given permission and had decided that it was his bed.

This didn't sit well with Lucy.

Sure he was warm, which she sadly admitted, was nice with the cold night air, but she wasn't sure if him staying in her bed was a good thing. The Celestial mage wondered why he slept in the bed with her; didn't his hammock provide comfort? It had been before met her. Or had he snuck into other guild member's homes and shared a bed with them? Lucy shivered a little at that, suppressing the thoughts that came with that train of thought?

What if he'd snuck into bed with Gray? Or Erza? Or Mirajane? Or maybe even Elfman?

Natsu rubbed his head from where he'd smacked in onto the floor when Lucy had kicked him off the bed. Her kick hadn't hurt; it was Lucy for crying out loud, she was strong sure, but not that strong. He sighed; he'd been really comfortable and warm before she'd woken up. He hated when she woke up first, it was always followed by a scream and him hitting the floor.

"What are you laughing at?" The dragon slayer asked, watching his blonde friend giggle hysterically, red spreading across her face. He wasn't sure what she was laughing at, but whatever it was, must have been pretty funny he mused, because she wouldn't stop laughing.

"Did you used to sneak into other people's homes and share their bed before I joined Fairy Tail?" Her words were barely understandable, but Natsu managed to understand. He wondered why she was blushing, or why she'd even think that he'd go sneaking into other people's homes and sleep in their bed. Natsu only slept in Lucy's bed.

"Nope! Natsu and me only have ever snuck into Lucy's bed! She has such a comfy bed!" Happy exclaimed; the flying cat stretching at the foot of the bed. It had become his spot; to sleep at his Master's feet.

"Why me?" Lucy muttered, climbing out of bed and heading to the bathroom. It was cold and she really wanted a hot bath.

"Where ya goin' Luce?" The pink haired dragon slayer asked, grinning. He was already climbing back into the bed, Happy curling up next to him in a small blue ball. Lucy rolled her eyes at the sight, glaring from the bathroom doorway.

"I am taking a hot bath! And I swear you better not be in my bed when I come back out or else!" The Celestial mage slammed the door, angrily. Why couldn't she have normal friends? Who didn't sneak into her bed?

Natsu and Happy were already sound asleep by the time she got into the bath.

Lucy ignored the wish to be still curled up in bed next to the dragon slayer, pretending the bath was warm enough.

* * *

"Hey is there a reason you sneak into my bed?" They were sitting at her table, sipping on tea she'd made for breakfast. The breakfast noodles had already been devoured, mostly by Natsu and Happy. Lucy leaned her elbow on the table, placing her chin in her hand as she stared at her partner. He had slept the whole time she was in the bath tub, which had been about an hour. Natsu was leaning back in his chair, looking quite comfortable while Happy was sitting on the table.

"I just like your bed I suppose. It's really comfy and big," he grinned at her, putting his hands behind his head. He knew she didn't approve of him sneaking into her bed most nights, but Natsu couldn't help it. It was that he just loved her bed so much, sure he loved his hammock, but there was something about sleeping in his partner's bed that just sleeping so much better. It made him know she was safe; kept her warm with the coldest months of the year approaching and even helped hurry her along in the mornings when they chose to go to the guild hall. Plus Lucy always made him breakfast in the mornings. He just liked waking up next to her; it was like before when he'd been with Igneel.

It was nice to wake up next to someone; it didn't make him feel so lonely.

"Well that's helpful," Lucy sighed, clearly annoyed with the current situation. This wasn't how she expected having a boy sleeping in her bed to go. Sure, she'd realized that one day a man and her would be sharing a bed, but she always believed it would be after months and months of courting and the first time would be an accidental time. And then slowly but surely, he'd begin to sleep over more and more until he moved in or they got married.

Lucy supposed that the first time could be considered an accident on her part, plus there had been a reason that Natsu hadn't gone home. It had been pouring down rain; he surely didn't want to get drenched. But well there was no slow progression of him crawling into bed with her; it suddenly became an all the time thing. And she'd be damned if Natsu moved in or they got married.

Even the thought caused Lucy to shudder.

"Heya Luce, let's go to the guild and take up a mission!" His grin was infectious and the blonde mage banished her sour thoughts and smiled. Going on a mission was the perfect thing to do today. She needed the money to pay rent and it would take her mind off this whole sharing her bed with Natsu situation.

It would be a good day.

* * *

The mission was a real success for once.

They'd easily defeated the dozen or so dark mages that had been terrorizing a town. Natsu had pretty much came through the battle unscathed and Lucy managed to get maybe a scratch on her left arm. It wasn't big or really upsetting at all, but the blonde mage's partner had gotten all fired up over it and destroyed a building in his anger. Sometimes Natsu's temper went way out of hand.

Luckily the building had been deemed condemned and was scheduled to be torn down anyway, Lucy had cried in thanks due to their good luck. Now they wouldn't have to give any of the reward money back to the town to pay for damages.

The trio collected their reward of one hundred and thirty jewels and headed on home towards the guild, both in high spirits.

Lucy now had enough money to pay her rent with some money left over to spend until they're next mission. She wanted to hurry home and get out of the cold weather and to her nice warm bed.

Natsu just wanted to get back to Lucy's apartment. He wanted to make sure she really was okay; sure it was just a cut, but he worried.

* * *

Happy watched Lucy wander around the apartment in nothing but a towel on. The blue exceed munched on his fish, hiding on top of the fridge out of her line of sight. He really didn't want to be caught; it wasn't like he was peeping on her or anything. He was just waiting for her to get dressed so he could go snuggle into her warm blankets with her and Natsu.

It was his new favorite thing in the world to do besides eating fish.

"Happy! What are you doing in here?" She was pointing accusingly at him, her other hand in her hip. Her brown eyes were glaring at him, before darting back and forth. Lucy was looking for Natsu, if Happy was here then the dragon slayer wasn't too far behind. He had to be somewhere in the spacious apartment.

"We came over so we go to bed!" Happy exclaimed, finishing off the last of his fish before jumping down off the fridge and onto his blonde friend's shoulder. He really didn't want to be in trouble with her, but he knew that the sleeping over was kinda a sore spot for Lucy.

"Why can't you guys sleep over at your own place?" Stomping her foot, she headed towards her bedroom, jerking the door open and growling. There was Natsu on her bed, hands behind his head as he looked up at her with a huge grin on his face. "I just don't understand!" Throwing her hands up in anger, the blonde stomped over to her dresser and pulled out her pajamas and headed for the bathroom.

She slammed the door so hard that the whole building shook.

"Natsu, maybe we should go home…" The blue exceed wondered aloud. He didn't like when Lucy was mad at them, and she was really mad right now. Maybe it would do some good to sleep in their own bed for a few nights before sneaking into their friends again.

"No," the pink haired dragon slayer simply stared up at the moon through the window. He wouldn't go home. Lucy needed him here. He listened carefully as she got dressed, choosing to look at the bathroom door when she came out, seeming a little calmer than before.

"Natsu, why do you insist on sharing a bed with me?" Lucy spoke softly, trying to understand what was going on. She figured that maybe, just maybe if she tried to talk about it in a calm manner, she'd get some answers. The blonde sat at the end of the bed, sitting Indian style, watching Natsu copy her.

"I just like sleeping with ya," he looked her straight in the eyes and it struck how Lucy how serious he was.

"Why?" Sighing, she scooted closer to him a little, watching as he turned to look up at the moon. It was beautiful out tonight, hardly a cloud in the sky. Lucy idly wondered why she didn't just have Erza threaten to beat Natsu up if he didn't stop sneaking into her bed, but the teen realized she couldn't be that mean. It wasn't like Natsu ever touched her while they slept, he just slept.

"I guess because I miss sleeping with Igneel. I used to always curl up under one of his wings against his stomach when it was time to sleep. I felt so happy and protected there," the dragon slayer remembered all the times he'd curled up with Igneel and just slept or how often the great red dragon had taken care of him.

"So you sleep with me because you don't like to sleep alone? I'm a replacement for Igneel," Lucy understood a little. When her mother had first died, she'd refused to sleep alone, often crying until a maid would climb into bed with her and let her hold onto them while she slept. It had made her feel much better, and had helped chase the loneliness and sadness away.

"Yea, I guess so. That and well it's much too cold to be sleeping alone, Luce. You have no idea how cold your skin is when I climb into bed with ya most nights." He joked, trying to make it seem more casual than it really was. A grin split his face.

"You touch me while I sleep!?" She exclaimed, glaring at him a little. Well there goes the idea that Natsu wasn't a pervert, she thought.

"No no! Just Luce you kinda snuggle up to me, your feet are cold as ice too!" Holding his hands up in surrender, Natsu chuckled again. He didn't really mind that Lucy snuggled up to him; it felt more like he was sleeping with Igneel.

"Really? I don't do that!" Lucy exclaimed, her face turning into a mask of horror! Did this mean she was the perverted one? A giant blush went across her face.

"Yes you do!" Natsu shouted, smiling from ear to ear. He was enjoying teasing his friend a little and she looked quite cute with the blush across her face.

"Gah!" A thump was heard from where Lucy basically threw herself down onto her bed next to Natsu from embarrassment. She nearly jumped out of her skin when a rather large hand began patting her back in soothing circles.

"Ya know you're a weirdo Luce," Natsu smiled; he wasn't sure why he was patting her back, but he didn't like her in distress.

"Anyone ever tell you that you're like a freaking sun with how hot you are?" She grumbled, feeling her body relax into the mattress. The dragon slayer's warm hand felt nice on her back, chasing away the chill of the night air.

It was quiet for a few minutes as Natsu rubbed his friend's back, the blonde nearly falling asleep in that time.

"You're like that purple moon from that S class job we went on," the dragon slayer said suddenly, causing Lucy to jump awake from her dozing. She'd been half asleep from the warm and rubbing her back. The mage opened one of her eyes to look up Natsu, who was staring up at the moon.

"That why you wanted to destroy it so bad?" She joked, giggling just a little. Maybe being half asleep and trying to hold a conversation was a bad idea.

"No way! It was just a challenge!" He grinned down at her.

"So I'm a challenge then?" Lucy glared at him with one eye.

"Naa, you're like a purple moon because you're different from anyone I've ever meet, you're a really big weirdo," Natsu smiled softly at her, leaning against the headboard and leaving his hand lying on the middle of her back.

"Well ummm thanks, I guess," the teenager wasn't sure how to respond to him, choosing to take his words as an odd kind of compliment. She sighed in contentment, her eyelids getting heavier. "Wait are you saying you're gonna try to knock me out of the sky?" Her half asleep mind asked.

"Only if you suddenly start trying to bring back a demon," The fire breather grinned, before adding, "but I don't think I could ever hurt you even then."

Lucy was already asleep, the heat Natsu radiating putting her quickly off to dreamland.

Natsu wondered if this was how Igneel felt looking after him night after night, deciding that the feeling in his chest that made him happy was indeed how Igneel must have felt.

* * *

_So well Natsu only said he'd knock the moon out of the sky if I was the moon and trying to revive a demon, but obviously that isn't gonna happen. I mean I'm a human! But yea I woke up and Natsu was curled up beside me, Happy at our feet. He still had his hand on the middle of my back and I felt warm all over._

_I guess I'm gonna have to get over the fact that he climbs into bed with me. I mean I understand why he does it, he misses Igneel. I guess like I miss you. And it does feel nice to have him there; he keeps me really warm at night now. And I don't feel so lonely waking up to an empty apartment. Maybe I'll even start charging him a fee for eating all my food and sharing a bed! Wouldn't that be great?_

_I really love Fairy Tail Mom, it's given me a new family and such great friends like Natsu and Happy. And Erza and Gray. And even Levy-chan who keeps begging to read my book. I'll let her read it eventually. It's really coming along great Mom!_

_Well I think that's all Mom._

_Love you,_

_Lucy._

_P.S. Don't tell Dad._

* * *

If you guys see any mistakes please tell me :) Hope you enjoyed it.


	4. Rice

Well hello! So did anyone expect the newest chapter of Fairy Tail to be what it is? I mean I don't want to spoil it or anything...

Couple: NatsuXLucy

Prompt: Rice

Word Count: 4,137

Release Date: January 7th, 2013

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fiary Tail.

* * *

_Dear Mom,_

_Did you know Natsu didn't know how to make rice?_

* * *

"Lucy, I'm hungry!" Happy exclaimed, perching himself on the blonde's shoulder. He hadn't seen his best girl friend all day! It was one of those rare nights that they hadn't camped out at her house and he'd had to fly to the guild hall before he could see her. She was in deep conversation with Levy about her book, while Kana sat close, drinking down her liquor.

"Hey Happy!" Lucy greeted, giving the blue exceed a sweet smile, before telling Levy, "See I told you they'd be here asking for food." A giggle escaped both girls' lips followed by Kana's drunken laughter. Happy just looked confused, looking from one girl to the next.

"Right on time as always," Kana laughed loudly again, putting an arm around Lucy's shoulder, drunkenly. "Hey, where's Natsu anyway? He's not here with you Happy," all three of the Fairy Tail girls looked for the pink haired dragon slayer only to discover that happy really had come alone.

"Natsu is home; he doesn't feel well!" The blue exceed visibly deflated at the news, his cute kitty ears losing they're perked position. Natsu hadn't been feeling well after the mission the day before; he'd eaten some kind of funky magic and pretty much passed out in his hammock as soon as he'd gotten home. The dragon slayer hadn't even mentioned going to Lucy's.

"It must have been that magic he ate yesterday," shaking her head the blonde stood up, nearly causing the cat to fall off her shoulder. "He really needs to be more careful from now on…" Muttering, she proceeded to shake her head and sigh.

"Where ya going Lu-chan?" The blue haired mage asked, smiling a little. She knew how much her friend cared about her teammate and often wondered if Natsu meant more to Lucy than even Lucy realized. They were always together and seemed to know each other pretty well.

"I'm going to go take care of the idiot; he probably needs someone to check up on him. I'll see you guys later, 'kay?" Giving her friends one last smile, Lucy headed out the door. They could all see the worry evident all over her face, but no one chose to comment. It was Lucy and Natsu; what was there to say?

* * *

"She's got it really bad, doesn't she?" Mirajane put down a tray of food, sighing a little. The bar maid placed her hands on her hips. She hated to see Lucy that worried. The woman had watched Lucy leave the guild hall, the look of pure worry all over her face. It reminded her almost of Lisanna at times.

"Bad is an understatement; he has her hook, line, and sinker," Kana sighed as well, guzzling down another beer. She felt a little bad for the Celestial mage; the one she liked was oblivious as they came.

"Do you think it'll end up anywhere though?" She truly wished for the best of her friends, even though she knew that the best thing for Lucy was complicated. Mirajane sighed louder, trying to picture the Celestial mage and the dragon slayer together. On one side Natsu needed someone to look after him and Lucy did just that, but on the other side Lucy needed someone who could give her lots of attention, but Natsu was about as dense as a rock.

"I dunno. I hope for Lu-chan's sake it does. I mean, do you guys see the way she looks at him or the way whenever he needs help she's always there? I mean if he asks her to jump, she jumps. But poor Lu-chan doesn't even realize it," Levy leaned her chin on her hand, letting out a sigh. It really wasn't fair to the poor blonde; she needed and deserved a boyfriend who would be sweet and kind and give her lots of attention.

"Bunny girl is doomed," Gajeel seemed to pop out of nowhere, plopping down beside the blue haired mage. All of the girls nearly jumped out of their skin, seeing him there.

"Give people a little warning next time, ya hear!" Kana growled at him, slamming her beer glass down on the table and breaking it. She really hated to be snuck up on.

"So everyone agrees then. Lucy Heartfilia is doomed to have a broken heart because of Natsu Dragneel," Mirajane said aloud in an ominous voice. Everyone around the table let out a collective sigh, realizing that the bar maid was probably correct.

"Well anyone wanna make bets?" Was Kana's enthusiastic, if a bit slurred, response.

From that day on the bet was made.

* * *

Lucy walked along the river, the guy's in the boat yelling at her to be careful like always. She waved at them, giving them a tiny smile. For some reason she was sad and the blonde didn't understand why.

Why hadn't Natsu came to her first when he got sick? She could have taken care of him, made sure he ate, got clean. The blonde didn't like that he'd chosen to be alone. What if that funky magic he'd eaten killed him? Or it seriously maimed him? He would be all alone, having to deal with that.

Why didn't he trust her enough to let her take care of him?

"What's wrong Lucy?" Happy had been flying ahead of her, but now was hovering in front of her. He'd noticed when she'd stopped suddenly, head down and hands clenched at her side. "You not feeling well either?"

"Happy, why didn't he come to me? I could have helped him," her voice was low and she stared at the ground. "Didn't he trust me enough to take care of him?"

The blue exceed once again deflated, flying into Lucy's chest and letting her hug him. He understood how she felt. The dragon slayer never let Happy take care of him either. He refused the help when he was sick for whatever reason that he couldn't understand.

"Natsu just isn't smart sometimes, like when he's sick," he whimpered into the blonde large boobs, hoping it would make her smile. It worked a little, because she laughed a little.

"When is he ever?" She grinned at the cat, hugging him to her tighter. "Let's go take care of our Natsu."

"Yeah!" Happy exclaimed, jumping up and spreading his wings, already flying in the direction of the dragon slayers apartment. He flew so fast that Lucy had to run to catch up.

Lucy yelled for Happy to slow down the whole way there.

* * *

Natsu felt awful.

Not even just a little awful, but really completely and horrible awful. It was even worse than when he was on a moving vehicle. And that was bad. This was a million times worse. His head was pounding and he struggled to see straight whenever he could get his eyes to stay open for more than a few seconds. He felt like he was going to throw up, though he had nothing in his stomach to throw up. And yet the dragon slayer wanted to eat, he was starving, but he didn't have the strength in his body to get up and make himself anything. Natsu wondered what was worse, being hungry or having the desire to drink something. The pink haired mage wanted water so bad that he wished to be dumped into a river where he could drink just by opening his mouth.

That's how sick Natsu Dragneel was.

It was no wonder than when Lucy came in, he didn't even notice at first.

In fact he didn't even notice until she'd placed her cool hand on her forehead, quickly replacing it with a cool wash cloth. Managing to open one eye, he saw her face looking down worriedly at him. Her big brown eyes looked scared and sad and he wondered why she was upset.

"Natsu, what am I going to do with you?" She mumbled, watching as his eyes closed again. The rag was quickly dried out due to the dragon slayer's intense heat and the blonde quickly dabbed it in a basin filled with cold water, putting it back on his forehead. He was running hotter than usual, much hotter.

She looked down at her right hand, the one with the guild sign on it, noticing the burn that she'd gotten just from checking Natsu's body temperature. It wasn't too bad, but it was obviously burned and would have quite a mark for a while to come. Lucy was surprised he hadn't set anything on fire yet.

"Happy he shouldn't be so warm," sighing, Lucy took the whole basin and poured it on top of the pinked haired mage. She decided that she needed to cool him off soon. The blonde mage was racking her brain for ideas, beginning to freak out.

"His fever is from eating that nasty magic the other day. His body is trying to burn it off," the blue exceed stood at the end of the bed pacing nervously. Natsu hadn't been this bad earlier.

"Virgo!" Smiling a little, the blonde mage stood up and running to what she knew to be the apartment's bathroom. Quickly Lucy turned the water on; making sure the hot was all the way off, blasting steady cold water. Darting back into the other room, she summoned Virgo.

"What can I do for you today Princess?" The Celestial Spirit bowed once, smiling at her mistress. She resumed her normal position, looking between the blonde and the dragon slayer.

"Please take him into the bathroom and put him in the cold shower, we need to bring down his body temperature right away!" Lucy felt bad for calling the spirit here for this, but she simply wasn't strong enough to lift her friend by herself and she wanted to start on other things. "Be careful not to be burned Virgo! Thank you."

"Yes Princess," saluting the blonde, Virgo gently lifted Natsu into her arms, bed sheet and all, carrying him bridal style into the bathroom. She wondered what had caused the condition of her Princess' friend, but kept it to herself. Very carefully she perched his head up so he wouldn't drown and returned to her Lady's side.

"Happy, has Natsu eaten at all? Or had anything to drink?" She demanded, tying her hair up into a messy bun and facing the flying cat.

"Not at all! He hasn't felt well enough to move alone on his own," the blue exceed exclaimed, watching Lucy dart back in forth in the small kitchen area.

"Virgo he isn't going to drown is he?" The blonde mage asked, pulling open another cabinet and grabbing for the packets of rice she found there. It seemed Natsu really didn't have much to eat in his home. She idly wondered if that was another reason he ate up all her food and was always hungry.

"No princess, I promise." Watching her mistress, run back and forth like that alarmed the spirit a little, but she knew the blonde. She knew that she was a very determined and spirited girl. Right now she was completely and totally focused on something; there was no stopping her.

"Then you can go back, thank you for your help," Lucy smiled brightly at the spirit over shoulder, raising her burned hand in a wave.

"Alright Princess, please do take care of your hand or Loki or even I shall return to take care of it," Virgo warned, making a stern face at the blonde before disappearing into a spiral of smoke.

"Happy, go watch over Natsu, while I make him some rice. Hopefully by the time, I'm done his body will have cooled down," she called to the blue exceed, smiling a bit more when he was already heading towards their friend. They both cared so much for their friend. "Now I can focus on cooking."

The water was already on the stove being heated, the packages of rice resting on the counter. The Celestial mage had another pan going for some pork she'd found hidden in the fridge. It wasn't much and she knew Natsu could eat a lot more than what she had out for him, but it would be good to start out with. It would give him some strength. Lucy also looked for packages of tea to make for the dragon slayer, finding some old ones, that wouldn't taste the best, but would be good enough.

Lucy decided that when this was all over, she was taking him grocery shopping.

* * *

Dragging him out of the cold shower had been tough.

First off ice cold water plus feverish Natsu equaled a lot of steam, even getting over to the tub had been a difficult task, since she couldn't see anything and the floors were slick. The Celestial mage did a lot of stumbling and tripping and catching herself and even running into one wall before she made it over to the tub.

Secondly, Lucy decided that she wasn't gonna make poor Virgo have to get Natsu out of the shower. So this left her the difficult task of pulling his body out of the freezing water and over the edge of the tub. The poor blonde girl ended up soaked and shaking, making Happy turn the water off as she drug her friend across the floor and into the living room.

Maybe next time she'd join Natsu and Happy in lifting weights.

It wasn't even funny how heavy Natsu seemed to her.

Next came the job of feeding Natsu, he was dead asleep and seemed unresponsive when she tried to wake him up. No matter what she did nothing worked. She tried everything from poking his forehead to shaking him lightly or even waving food under his nose. The dragon slayer just refused to wake up.

"Always have to do everything the hard way, don't you?" Sighing, Lucy took some of the tea and managed to work it so it went down the pink haired mage's throat. After he'd gotten two full cups down, she deemed that was all she could get. She'd had to worry about feeding him later.

At least his fever was way down.

That got a tiny smile out of Lucy.

Tucking Natsu into the hammock was easier said than done, he was heavy and it took both her and Happy to lift him into the hammock. Throwing a blanket over him, the blonde mage made sure he was completely covered before turning to look at the dragon slayer's home.

It was a mess.

So the rest of the evening was spent, Lucy cleaning up the small apartment. She picked up all his clothes and made sure they got washed, putting away the food she made earlier so he'd have it to eat later. She straightened up, making sure all the trash was out and she even wiped down the bathroom, happy when it sparkled. The kitchen area was the worst she decided; between all the left out food and dirty cabinets. She scrubbed them all out and threw out all the bad food.

It was way after dark by the time Lucy was finally done.

"I'll just stay a bit longer to make sure he's okay…" Yawning and stretching, the blonde mage leaned down and kissed the pink haired mage's forehead just like her mother had done for her every time she'd ever been sick. He was slightly warm she decided but nowhere near how bad he'd been earlier. And this heat was naturally what he gave off due to his fire dragon slayer magic.

She was exhausted. Her vision was blurring and her footsteps felt really heavy and her poor back ached, along with all of her limbs. In general the girl just ached, especially her hand. She'd over used it and not taken care of it properly like she should have from where she'd been burned earlier and it felt like it was fire.

"Loki and Virgo will be upset with me…" Lucy wrapped her hand up in a wet cloth, moving to stand next to Natsu's hammock again. Sometime during the evening Happy had fallen asleep and now was up by the dragon slayer's head, snoring. She smiled a little at that.

Lucy Heartfilia didn't even think about it, before crashing into the hammock with Natsu Dragneel.

What was sneaking into his bed one time when he had snuck into her's countless times before?

* * *

Natsu woke up feeling really warm.

And once again with something heavy laying on top of him. Or well half laying on him. His whole left arm, leg, and part of his chest had a mysterious thing on it. But as he learned last time he wasn't gonna freak and attack it, he very slowly opened his eyes to discover a mass of blonde hair on his chest.

Lucy was curled around him, sound asleep.

"Don't wake her up Natsu," Happy was standing above his head, smiling. "She worked so hard to take care of you and simply couldn't drag her exhausted body home." The exceed grinned, gesturing to the clean apartment and him feeling better.

"She took care of me?" Natsu stared down at the girl. How did she even know he was sick? He hadn't wanted to trouble her.

"Yup and even got a really bad burn on her hand because you had such a high fever that your body was really hot," the exceed looked a little sad at that, "but she also made us food and cleaned the apartment and it even smells good in here!" He perked right up at that, his ears being all pointy on top of his head as a grin spread across his face.

"That's our Luce," the pink haired mage mumbled, "always taking care of us." Very carefully he pulled out of the girl's embrace, covering her back up with the blanket. He stared down at her, noticing her right hand was all wrapped up. He watched as she pulled the blanket tighter round herself in her sleep, curling up into a ball. He clenched his hands at his side.

"That's what friends are for, Natsu!" Happy explained, going over to the fridge to pull out the food Lucy had made. "You need to eat Natsu, Lucy made this all for us!"

He blue exceed noticed that his friend didn't seem so happy or enthusiastic as he ate, not like his normal self at all. It was strange, but happy had a feeling he knew why his friend was sad.

"Lucy came right on over when she realized you were sick. She got really upset because she didn't understand why you didn't trust her to take care of you. It made her feel like you didn't trust her," here the blue cat paused, Natsu had a strange look on his face, like he was shocked. "She really is our best friend, Natsu. Lucy really cares about us. She wasn't mad at all when she got her hand burned, just more worried about you!" the blue cat giggled a little. Sometimes he called Lucy a meanie, but he really did love her. They all did.

"She's not mad about her hand…?" Natsu asked. It felt strange that Lucy cared this much. Sure he knew that everyone in Fairy Tail cared about him, but Lucy seemed to care more about him than anyone. She was always right there and now had even gotten herself hurt because of him. She'd taken care of him.

"No, not at all! It's our Luce we're talking about! Sure she gets mad at us sometimes, but not at stuff like that!" Happy finished off his plate of food, smiling at his friend. They were partners, but now they now a trio of partners. Natsu, Lucy, and Happy and he wouldn't have it any other way.

Natsu listened to what the blue cat was saying, finishing off his food as well. He was right; Lucy was his friend. Of course she was going to take care of him! That's what friends did of course! Just like when he took care of her when she was cold at night. The dragon slayer considered himself lucky to have a friend like her.

"Hey Happy, let's make some breakfast for our Luce!"

* * *

Lucy was a little weirded out when she woke up.

First off there was white stuff everywhere. It resembled some kind of rice but was brown around the edges. Almost like all the rice had been burned together to create a white paste. It smelled disgusting.

Secondly Natsu was in an apron. And it was yellow and on fire. And he was waving around a flaming fire pan.

And Happy was crying about it all being ruined.

She almost thought she was dreaming.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" She yelled, rubbing at her face with her sore hand, wincing.

Both males froze in place, staring at her in puzzlement. This was not how they wanted this to go. They had wanted to wake her up with breakfast ready and on the table.

But obviously they had failed.

Horribly.

"Lucy! How do you make rice?" Happy asked, jumping up and down on her lap. Lucy looked from him to Natsu who was staring at her from in front of the stove.

The apron was still on fire.

"Natsu, you're on fire, ya know that right?" Was all that she could think to say, watching as he jumped and began to eat the flames.

"Of course Natsu knows that! Wow, you're back to being dumb Lucy!" The blue cat exclaimed, poking at her stomach once.

"Stupid cat," the Celestial mage didn't even give him a warning as she stood up and walked over to the stove, turning the heat way down and taking the drying pan from her friend.

"First you add water and let it boil, don't just dump it in the pot," she sighed and smiled at him, "haven't you ever made rice before Natsu?" Turning towards him she placed her hands on her hips, before putting her burned hand around his neck and pulling him down to her level, kissing his forehead.

Natsu jumped away from her quickly, startled.

"Why you do that?" He asked, shaken. Under his eyes, a red tint formed and he couldn't meet Lucy eye to eye.

"That's how you tell if someone has a temperature Natsu! Works better than a thermometer," grinning the blonde turned back towards the stove, yawning. She really was tired. But happy that Natsu was feeling better; it wasn't often that she had to take care of him.

Natsu just stood there, looking confused as he watched Lucy flutter around his kitchen like she belonged there, and well in fact he thought, maybe she did. The pink haired mage smiled big to cover his blush.

Just like she belonged in Fairy Tail.

There was no other place she belonged.

* * *

_He really didn't know how to make rice! After I showed him how, I made the knucklehead make another batch and it turned out just fine, but his exact words to me were, "Your's is better Luce!," and then practically covered me in rice. He overheated the water and rice and it exploded, but somehow it ONLY went on me. Not on anything else; which I'm kind of happy about. I mean it took me forever to clean the place. I would have been so upset if it had gotten dirty, just like that._

_And probably killed Natsu._

_Afterwards Natsu looked at my hand, making sure it was okay. Mom, his face got so dark when he saw the burn. It's not too bad, but it looks so bad. And hurts a lot too. But it could have been a lot worse, but Natsu looked so sorry. Like I'd kicked his favorite puppy or something. He held my hand really carefully in his that I blushed and then demanded we go see Wendy. _

_Wendy just looked confused and took care of my hand, but she smiled when Natsu refused to leave my side. Well everyone in the guild did; they all kinda just stared at us with these creepy little smiles on their faces. Mirajane even brought us 'extra special' drinks for 'just the two of us' and even winked at us before she walked away. I wanted to throw my mug at her._

_Though even in the end, Mom, I wouldn't trade all of my adventures in this guild for anything. I really love it, even when everyone is being silly and loud and obnoxiously crazy. I really love this guild. Sorry, but I think I have to go. Natsu, Erza, Gray, Happy, and I are going on a mission._

_Love you,_

_Lucy._

_P.S. Don't tell Dad._

* * *

What you all think? The next few days is going to be really busy for me! I'm moving... 1200 miles! Pray for my sanityl


	5. Wings

Hey! Sorry for this taking so long guys! But I moved and then I got a job and things have been really crazy for me lately. But I finally got this out! I am sooo loving the new chapters btw! :D

Couple: NatsuXLucy

Prompt: Wings

Word Count: 5,564

Release Date: March 18th, 2013

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail.

* * *

_Dear Mom,_

_I wish I had wings, that's what I used to say._

* * *

"Lu-chan hasn't come to the guild in a few days, is she alright?" Levy once again searched the guild all over for her friend. There was just no finding her.

"No one's seen her in quite some time, although she did tell us to leave her be for a few days," Erza also gave a quick once over with her eyes, even though she knew the blonde mage wouldn't be there. Sighing, she wondered when it would be acceptable to barge in and demand what was going on.

"Lucy hasn't even came in for her 'I was up all night writing my novel and need a little pick me up' cocktail. Where has she gotten off to?" Mirajane brought over the tray of drinks, they'd all ordered, choosing to sit down with them. Work was a little slow and she figured that she could sit for a moment.

The group of Fairy Tail women, Cana, Mirajane, Erza, and Levy, were all sitting around drinking. It seemed most of the men were off busy doing something, in which none of them knew what it was. It was a tad confusing to them, but that was okay. They were getting to have much needed girl time.

There was just one problem; Lucy had seemingly disappeared.

"Maybe she is on vacation?" Erza wondered aloud, eating her strawberry cake. Even though she suggested it, she knew that it really wasn't what was going on. The blonde mage would have told them she was going on vacation, probably insisting someone go with her. It was more than a little strange that they hadn't seen her. It was nearing that time of the month when rent was due. Lucy was always looking for jobs right now.

"Lu-chan would have told us, I just don't understand where she could have gotten off to," the blue haired mage, sighed, putting down her book. It seemed they were going to have to investigate.

"At this rate, she won't remember what Mirajane's alcoholic drinks taste like no more," Cana didn't make much sense as she swayed on top of the table she'd chosen as her drinking destination. She was also worried about the blonde, but wasn't sure what to do about it.

"I just hope she isn't in any kind of trouble," The barmaid pulled the drinks out of Cana' reach, deciding to give the drinker a bit of break. Mirajane sighed, "I would hate to see her in any trouble." She slapped Cana's hand when she reached for the alcohol. "Cana knock it off! Sober up a little!"

The other women sighed a little, watching as Mirajane kept pulling the tray farther away from Cana, who in response would slide closer to the alcohol and make a grab for it. And then the white haired mage would slap the drunken woman's hand rather roughly. It was rather comical, but made them a little annoyed.

Now was not the time to be having this argument.

"Bunny girl isn't at her apartment," Gajeel sat down next to Levy, causing her to jump as he stole one of her rice cakes and her fork. The blue haired mage gave him a slight glare, noticing that not only did he eat her rice cake, but pretty much inhaled her fork as well.

"And where have you been? You're the first male I've seen all day," flipping her hair, Levy tried not to smile. She really was fond of the metal eating dragon slayer, but found him hard to handle some times. It was nice to see him.

"I was out doing stuff," for some reason the statement caused him to blush, "but as I said, bunny girl isn't at her apartment. Her smell seems pretty faded too, as if she hasn't been there for a few days." He was also a little worried for his fellow guild member; the blonde always seemed to be the center of trouble it seemed.

"I think we might need to go investigate, I know Lucy told us to let her be, but as her friends, we need to check up on her," Erza was finished her cake and was already up on her feet.

But before she could go, she was stopped.

"I'll find Lucy," Natsu stood on top of the table, Happy at his side. The two already had their traveling bags ready with identical grins.

"You know where she is?" The red headed mage asked, one hand on her hip as she stared down her friend. If he knew, then why hadn't he shared the information with the rest of them?

"I have a guess and I know what train she left on," the mage had had to threaten the boy at the train station to tell him, but he figured no one needed to know that. "And after we get there I can follow my nose."

"You sure you can find her?" Cana asked, poking at Natsu's stomach with a glass bottle, "You're not exactly a tracker. Maybe Erza or Mirajane or even Gajeel should go." She was pestering him a bit, trying to get him riled up.

"Hell no!" Natsu roared, his eyes ablaze. There was no one going after his Luce, but him. He wasn't sure what was wrong with her, but he'd figure it out and bring the blonde home to Fairy Tail.

"I wouldn't mind accompanying you to find Lucy," Erza said, she was always ready to travel. And even more ready to help a friend. And the red head mage knew that Lucy needed her help.

"No! I'm gonna find her!" He growled, slamming his fist down on the table.

"What makes you qualified to find Bunny girl?" Gajeel gave a toothish grin, getting right in the fire dragon slayer's face after slamming his own fists down on the table. "What makes you think you'll find her?"

"Because I know my Luce's smell better than anyone!" Yelling, the dragon slayer glared them all down. He would go after her alone with just Happy. He'd figure out was wrong.

"Alright, you can go out by yourself to find Lucy, but if you're not back or haven't sent word in three days, Gray and I and probably Juvia are coming looking, hear me?" The ex-quip mage promised, nodding her head towards the doors. She meant it and everyone knew it. Giving her friend a slight smile she said, "And bring her home happier than she was when she left."

Natsu grinned in response and was out the door in a heartbeat.

"So anyone else catch that?" Mirajane asked, a huge grin splitting her face. Everyone at the table could just see the wheels turning in the transformation specialist's mind. They all shrank a little at the evil look in her matchmaking eyes.

"He called her _his Luce_," Levy grinned a little as well, Gajeel scooting closer to her to get away from the white haired barmaid.

"He's so damn protective of her, like a dragon would be of his mate," the iron dragon slayer watched as Mirajane turned to him and looked between him and Levy. He didn't like that look, causing him to scoot further away from her and even closer to the blue haired mage.

This just spurned Mirajane on more.

"And how does a dragon act towards his mate?" The barmaid asked innocently, turning her full attention onto Gajeel and Levy, ignoring Cana and Erza. The other two female mages grinned a little, knowing where this was going. It wasn't like the thought hadn't crossed their minds as well.

"Well they're always around them and always are ready to help when needed. Very protective, if their mate gets hurt, you're in for a world of trouble. Just well always there, and when a dragon is ready for a mate they get very possessive," the dragon slayer seemed oblivious of the ideas he was giving to the barmaid, "Oh and when their mate is going to be hatching eggs, be careful. Their tempers are horrible!"

"So since you're always around Levy and whenever she's in danger you always seem to be there to help her and I've even noticed you lately scaring away the men, does this mean you're choosing to get our sweet little Levy here ready to be 'hatching eggs' as your mate, dragon slayer?" Mirajane eyed down Gajeel, her chin propped up on intertwined fingers. She watched as the blue haired woman's face turned a lovely shade of rosy pink and even the iron eater turned a slight shade of red.

"We weren't talking about me and her!" He shouted, the blush growing darker on his face. He stood up and stalked off, but not before grabbing Levy by the arm and dragging her along behind him.

"Gajeel what are you doing?" She screamed, allowing him to take her. "We need to talk about this!" Everyone watched as the dragon slayer pulled their poor friend out of the guild hall and out of sight, heading in what they thought was the direction of his apartment.

"Shouldn't we go after them?" Erza asked, a stunned expression on her face. She truly had been outdone this time by the barmaid. Mirajane was one of the only people she knew that could leave her this stumped.

"Nope, they have dragon eggs to make." Cana laughed at her own joke, smiling as Mirajane nodded in agreement and Erza just seemed even more shocked. The card wielding mage drank another mug of alcohol that she'd taken when the barmaid hadn't been looking and giggled a little.

"Is this what's gonna happen when the two of them finally get together?" The red head asked, sighing. All she could think about now was Natsu dragging Lucy off to 'make dragon eggs'. And for some reason she had a feeling that sooner or later it would happen and there would be little ones running around the guild hall.

"Natsu and Lucy? Naa, they're gonna be secret about it and then one day Lucy is gonna come in with a baby belly. Plus I think Natsu would move her somewhere warmer, fire dragons probably want their babies born somewhere a lot warmer than this." The brunette drunken mage giggled again, falling off the table in her current state. The other two women sighed.

"I'll take the alcohol and you take her?" Mirajane offered, already moving to clean up the mess Cana had made and leaving her childhood friend to clean up the other woman.

"Sure, do you really think they'll get together?" The ex-quip mage wondered aloud, dragging Cana away and placing her in what had been deemed 'Cana's recovery corner' in the guild hall.

"I do. They're perfect together."

The two women shared a smile, going back to their work.

* * *

Lucy Heartfilia wondered if she'd ever be free.

It was always one thing drawing her back to this place, back to her father's house and everything he owned.

It wasn't that she wanted her Father's money or any of his vehicles or nice clothes or even his world. She wanted nothing to do with that world. The world of the rich was a dark and devious world; no one truly had friends in that place. Parties were just an excuse to gossip and mock those you considered lower than you; to debate who had the finest things and who had screwed their maid. She never wanted any of it.

But then here she was, standing at the house's front gates, a huge party in full swing inside the elegant mansion. Sighing she walked through the gates, not even bothering to address the servants that greeted and gawked at her strange appearance; she was wearing pants with boots and a plain green t-shirt. The blonde mage calmly walked up the stairs and watched idly as the doormen open the great doors for her, one even asking if she wanted to change first. He was very kindly ignored.

Standing a top the stairs, Lucy Heartfilia watched as everyone in the great ballroom turned to see who had appeared, after all everyone was already there. Their shocked face was almost a treat to her as they took her in and the look on her Father's face was pure shock and anger and disappointment. No one had expected her to come; no one barely recognized her, but say a few. Rumors and whispers filled the crowd on who this mystery guest could be, Lucy almost smiled.

"Now announcing Miss Lucy Heartfilia Heiress of the Heartfilia family and fortune."

And now her Father just looked plain angry and now Lucy smiled.

* * *

Natsu didn't understand why Lucy would return to this place. Wasn't it her Father's home? The place she had ran away from because he mistreated her and paid her no attention. He hadn't cared about his own daughter and even tried to force her into coming back against her will.

So why would she willingly return?

He stood on the edges of the family garden, the hue Heartfilia mansion in sight. The whole house was illuminated with lights and music drifted from the walls. It was slow and peaceful and he watched as people mingled around the garden and inside the house. Everyone was dressed in fancy attire; the men in fancy tuxes and coats, while the women all danced around in fine ball gowns and elegant jewelry. They stood around and talked and some gossiped and tore other's reputations apart. It was horrible.

Natsu just couldn't see Lucy here.

After a while of searching and not finding the blonde, he deemed it appropriate to just go in.

"Sir, who are you? Are you on the guest list? And if you are you must be announced," the man was tall and easily looked down on him as if he was dirt. As if he was lower than him. The dragon slayer didn't understand how anyone could be lower in someone else's eyes; weren't all people the same?

"I'm a guest of the Heartfilia family, of Lucy Heartfilia," Natsu sneered, glaring up at the man and crossing his arms. Beside him, Happy glared as well, the man had over looked him.

"I wasn't aware that Miss Heartfilia had any guests," the announcer replied. His voice oozed self righteousness, as if he was better than the mage.

"Yeah, well she has two, me and Natsu," the blue little cat first pointed at himself and then the pink haired mage. All of his hair was standing on end and he was even growling.

"I didn't know a cat was considered a guest, I thought all cats on the premises were used as rodent control," he tried to seem so innocent in his comment, but both Fairy Tail mages knew he was just being a jerk.

"Well we're both," Natsu practically growled the last word, "guests of Lucy, she's our best friend." Crossing his arms, the dragon slayer glared intensely at the man, his eyes never leaving the other man's eyes.

"I don't think a ruffian like you would know _Miss _Heartfilia," he really was egging the two of them on. The guy had called Happy 'rodent control' and now he was even insinuating that they had to call Lucy, 'Miss Heartfilia'. He was nearly ready to punch the guy in the face and just be done.

But then Natsu stopped for a minute. What was the point of getting into an argument with this fancy jerk? If he punched him then they'd be made to leave and he wasn't sure he could grab Lucy and just go. So he settled for something else instead.

"LUCE! WHERE ARE YOU LUCE?" The dragon slayer began yelling at the top of his lungs, turning to the crowd. Some looked towards him, while other bluntly ignored him, speaking a little louder. Happy flew above in search of their fellow guild member, yelling out her name. When she didn't answer at first and the party's security guards began to close around him, the pink haired mage blew fire out his mouth, alternating between sending fire upwards and screaming for the blonde. The guards stayed a few feet back, afraid to get too close to him for fear of being burned.

When he was beginning to worry that she wasn't there or she was somehow not seeing his very grand and obviously over the top display, he saw a hand rise in the crowd. And then a bunch of blonde hair was visible; Natsu got even more excited as she came closer, noticing her Fairy Tail mark bestowed proudly.

"Luce!"As soon as the blonde had broken free of the crowd, Natsu was sprinting towards her. He idly noticed that she was wearing silver heels and a long blue and silver dress that obviously made it much harder for her to move around in and he covered much more of the distance than she did. Throwing his arms around her waist felt right, as he lifted her up and crushed her to his chest, grinning like a madman and her giggling ringing in his ears.

"Natsu!" Her arms were around his neck tightly and she almost seemed unwilling to allow him to go. He twirled her around once, feeling like a child regaining their favorite toy. After the twirl, he placed her gently on the ground, taking her appearance in much more detail.

Lucy's dress was much more elegant than it had first appeared, the blue being the main color, with silver engraving the dress as a whole. It wove patterns of flowers all over the bodice and flowed over the puffy skirts several times in neat little vines. Her strappy silver heels were covered now by the dress, since she had been holding her dress up high to run. Her blonde hair was pulled high on her head, a few strands curled around her face.

Natsu thought she looked like a princess and finally understood why she had the nickname.

"What are you doing here?" The blonde smiled brightly, her eyes taking him in. Her eyes were aglow and seemed genuinely happy.

"We came to rescue you!" Happy was flying around Lucy, taking in her appearance and smiling really big at her. "Natsu had to threaten the boy at the train station to tell us which train you'd been on! And we really missed you! Your bed isn't so comfo-" Here the small blue cat was cut off as the blonde mage plucked him from the air and squished him against her to keep him from saying any more.

"I don't need to be rescued guys! I came here of my own free will!" Idly, Lucy noticed the amount of people getting closer and closer to them, their voices beginning to mingle closer. Her father was even towards the back of the crowd, working his way through in a bored sort of way.

"Why Luce?" The pink haired mage asked, adding, "Are you leaving Fairy Tail?" He looked sad, as if all his energy had just been pulled out of his very soul.

"No!" Shouting, the Celestial mage was quick to reassure her friend. "My father invited me to the party and I just couldn't say no," she looked sad, her eyes drifting to the ground.

"Well why didn't you just say something? We were all so worried about you!" Natsu noticed her sad eyes, putting his hand under her chin to make her look at him. "What's wrong Luce?" For some reason under the lights, the blonde looked different to him, almost un-human. As if she wasn't herself, but someone more above him.

"It's the anniversary of my mom's death; this party celebrates how many years she's been gone. This is his type of mourning party." Her words hit him like a falling building, hatred burning in her eyes for everyone at the party.

Natsu understood; he hated them too.

* * *

"Now announcing Natsu Dragneel the Salamander, Miss Lucy Heartfilia's escort for the rest of the festivities," the announcer was the same this time and the dragon slayer and quite a grin on his face as the man announced him, "And Sir Happy the Cat from Fairy Tail." Happy struck a pose, bowing at the crowd.

"You're horrible," Lucy scolded, but smiled anyway, leading him down the grand staircase. She hadn't changed out of her gown for the evening, but instead made Natsu change into something more fit for the occasion. The poor mage was put into a tux that was black and had a white shirt under it. It was plain but elegant. She'd tried to get him to take off the scarf, but he'd put his foot down and refused to let her take it. Even Happy had been included in the game of dress up, having a found a baby tux to use for the evening.

Everyone in the crowd watched them walk by, idle whispers going up among the crowd. They wondered aloud about the two, talking about how low the daughter of the Heartfilia family had fallen, though she wasn't much better than a common whore. Natsu clung to Lucy tight after he'd nearly punched the first man in the face who called her a whore just a little too loudly; Lucy had gripped his arm in a death grip.

"It wouldn't help to make a scene Natsu; just ignore them." Her face was calm and serene and her small hands kept a tight rein on him. The blonde glided across the floor, leading him around in a wide circle.

"I'd kick all of their asses anyway," grinning the pink haired mage, nudged his friend a little. In return she only laughed, refusing to nudge him back.

"You would and probably destroy my Father's house in the process," Happy and Lucy both laughed at the blonde's remark; while Natsu pouted and acted like they'd kicked him. But in truth, the mage was happy; Lucy was smiling and laughing with them again. She seemed happy.

"The food is pretty good, actually," He reached out and took food off a nearby tray that a servant had been holding. It was some kind of finger sandwich.

"Father demands nothing but the best." She rolled her eyes

"Of course I do, I would never accept the second best of anything." Both teens jumped in surprise, turning towards the blonde man in shock. He stood there, eyeing the two of them in what seemed to be curiosity. Everyone in the great hall was focused on them, eyeing them down and several people got closer to try and hear.

"I know Father," Lucy kept a sober face before turning towards Natsu and Happy, "Father this is Natsu and the blue cat is Happy. They are my best friends and mages of Fairy Tail." She lightly nudged the dragon slayer to indicate that he should bow a little before her Father.

"Nice to meet the both of you," Jude Heartfilia giving both boys a look over, his eyes seem to linger on the possessive way that Natsu held Lucy's arm for a moment longer before staring down them both in the face.

"You ever hurt Lucy again and you'll be feeling how hot my flames truly are." Natsu glared down the man once before speaking again, "Though I'll admit you know how to throw a classy party." He smiled easily, patting the blonde's arm once, his grip tightening just a little on her.

"Well thank you, I take pride in my estate," nodding the blonde man watched his daughter smile a little at the dragon slayer's choice of words. He wondered partly why he allowed this ridiculous relationship to happen, but at the same time he knew better than to interfere with his daughter's life.

"What about pride in your daughter?" The dragon slayer grumbled, "she's amazing and really pretty and really smart," he grinned at Lucy who smiled brightly back at him. The whole crowd seemed to quiet at the announcement, causing the pink haired mage to grin bigger. The whole room had been discussing how horrible the blonde had been, but now they were all quiet, waiting for the reaction from the head of the house.

"She is a fine young woman," he started well, causing the whole room to drop their jaws, "but she's too unruly. Lucy should understand her responsibilities better and realize what a disgrace she has become upon our family. She should be preparing to wed and bare an heir to continue our family line."

The whole room nearly snickered and a few agreements went up through the crowd. The whole room seemed to agree with the head of the house, all of them looking down at Lucy, who simply raised her head up higher and said nothing. The laughing only got worse, people calling her a disgrace.

"You're just an ignorant son of a bitch who wouldn't know he had something good unless it bite him on the ass," Natsu growled, pushing Lucy away from him at the last second as his body temperature soared and fire consumed him.

He was like a giant torch in the room and only his tight control on his magic kept it from leaping out and attacking everything around them.

"You have no idea how hard your daughter works do you? Any idea of how hard she tries to separate her name into something great? She works, she cries, she laughs with all of us at our guild, she's one of us. She's our family; any one of us would gladly do anything we could for her. I would die for Lucy if it came down to it! And you just stand there and insult her like she's nothing. Don't you realize how amazing she is? She's your daughter and you belittle her! Take it back! NOW!" Roaring, the dragon slayer mage blew fire from his mouth in rage. The whole crowd was quickly backing away from him, even Jude was moving away quickly.

Only Lucy stayed, ushering Happy towards the exit.

She stared onward at her friend, moving to stand across from him, slowly moving forward towards him. The Celestial mage had never seen the dragon slayer so truly angry; his whole body was engulfed in flames and she could tell he was shaking. His hands were balled into fists, his nails digging into his palms sharply, the blood simply evaporating from the sheer heat. His eyes were alight with fire it seemed and his very soul seemed to pour from him in anger.

Jude watched from the doorway as his only child walked closer and closer towards what he could only describe as a monster. His own instincts were yelling at him to run away, but the part of him that loved his daughter was holding him into place.

"Lucy as your father I order you to step away from him!" He yelled at her, noticing the flames only grew in intensity. "He'll kill you if you get any closer!"

"No he won't, Natsu would never hurt me." Lucy shot a quick smile over her shoulder, moving closer to her best friend as she did so. The heat brushed against her skin, hot at first and then turning into an almost caring heat, making her feel warm all over. It didn't burn her or even hurt a little, just comforted her, the flames twisting around her body in a strange cocoon.

The head of the house stared at the spectacle, watching as the fire consumer her daughter, expecting to hear her screams fill his home, but there was no screams, no sounds of terrible agony. The fire that became his daughter simply moved forward, closer and closer to the dragon slayer. In that moment, he was once again reminded of his wife in her younger days before she got sick and died. Always brave, never stopping on her way to pursue a goal, unwavering. Lucy was defiantly his wife's legacy, the only real true piece of herself she had left on this earth after she'd died.

Lucy was Layla Heartfilia's daughter in everything.

And he had tried to snuff out the light that was his daughter and make her into something else entirely, something that she wasn't. She was her mother, she was adventurous, she was free as the wind, and living in the house with him would never truly make her happy. Jude Heartfilia wondered if he'd ever be able to make it up to his daughter, watching as she reached her friend.

"Natsu, calm down, please." Her hands came to rest on his face, pulling him towards her. Natsu leaned against her, his dragon rage seeming to float away the longer he leaned against her, her arms snaking around his waist and her forehead resting against his own.

"Lucy how can you still love him?" Strong arms encircled Lucy, pulling her into him. "I just don't understand, he threw this party on the anniversary of your mother's death and treats you like shit." He never wanted to let her go in that moment.

"He's my father and my mother loved him. And in the end I love him. He's done some horrible things, but I feel like he's just confused. I think my mother's death broke him too bad to ever be truly fixed." Lucy leaned into him, as he leaned into her, the two of them ending up sitting on the floor, holding each other.

"It took a lot for you to leave him." Natsu asked, staring into her eyes, as he kept her close. He didn't want to let her go. She had left for a reason to come here and he had a feeling that it was a lot more serious than he knew.

"This house was my home, where mom and I made so many memories, where I even made many happy memories with my father. And then after she died, I felt trapped and unwanted. I often used to wish I was a bird so I'd have the wings to fly away and go where ever I wanted to. I wanted to see the world and have a different life than the one offered to me here. But in the end I guess I'm still just a caged bird unable to be free, unable to leave this place." Tears had begun to flow down her face, and Natsu stared at them wondering why she thought she was caged.

"No Lucy you are free. You've spread your wings and went all over the world and done many things. You might have flew home, but you're gonna spread your wings again and fly away with me. We'll both leave and go home to our nest." He grinned at her, placing his hand on her face.

Lucy began to laugh at his words, which caused Natsu to laugh as well, tears drying.

* * *

Jude watched as his daughter and her friends stood at Layla's grave. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could see the small tiny smile that his daughter had on her face. She touched her hand to her mother's name once, before walking away.

What happened next shocked the hell out of hmi.

"THANK YOU LUCY'S MOM FOR HAVING SUCH A GREAT DAUGHTER!" Natsu yelled so loud that he could be heard from the house. The older Heartfilia man jumped and smiled a little at the outburst, as even his daughter seemed to be shocked. She yelled and threatened to hit her friend over the head if he didn't stop making a ruckus.

"Layla I wish you could meet the man who owns our daughter's heart. He was your kinda man."

And with that Jude Heartfilia turned away from the window and returned to his work with a heavy heart.

* * *

_I used to want to fly away and have wings, but now it doesn't matter. I've learned that I don't need wings to be happy or be myself. I have my friends that always stick by me. They make me happy; they allow me to be myself. I can do anything, be anything I want to be as long as they stand by my side. And they will always be there with me._

_When I came home mom, they all greeted me. All of them had been worried about me since I hadn't given them any warning that I was leaving. Natsu was grinning from ear to ear when he pulled me into the guild hall. He's really something mom, an amazing something. _

_Levy-chan and Gajeel seem to be together now. He had his arm around her waist and she was blushing when I asked her what was going on. She squealed something about dragons and nesting before Gajeel whisked her away again. I'm not sure I really wanna know truthfully._

_For some reason Erza and Mirajane were staring at me and Natsu, which alarms me a little, but I don't think I'm going to think anything of it. Everyone seems to stare at us, but Natsu and I are so close that I really don't care. Fairy Tail is a weird guild after all._

_Mom, I have one last request please… look after Dad for me. Watch over him because I think he needs you more than I do._

_Love you,_

_Lucy._

_P.S. Don't tell Dad._

* * *

I hope you all really enjoyed this. And if anyone is willing to draw something for me, would you please contact me... I have a scene from this chapter I really would love to see.


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